Take My Course, Please! The Philosophy of Humor
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Take My Course, Please! The Philosophy of Humor
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Narrated by:
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Steven Gimbel
About this listen
In recent decades, the philosophy of humor has been recognized as a legitimate subfield of philosophy. The reason for this? Because to understand how humor works is to better understand the nature of human experience.
In these 24 insightful, informative, illuminating, and (yes) humorous lectures, explore the philosophical theories and explanations of humor, from blatantly obvious puns to complex narratives to sly twists of language. Rooted in analytic philosophy, the natural and social sciences, and the observations of thinkers ranging from Aristotle and Jonathan Swift to Sigmund Freud and Robert Latta, these lectures will leave you with a stronger appreciation of the jokes you tell and the jokes you hear.
You’ll ponder the possible universality of humor in history and culture, the debate over humor’s objectivity or subjectivity, and the complex relationship between humor and tragedy. You’ll also unpack each of the six existing theories of humor, including the superiority theory (in which to joke is to mock and put someone beneath your level) and play theory (in which humor is a species of the phenomenon of play).
You don’t need a philosophy degree to explore the philosophy of humor. All you need is an open mind. (A funny bone or two helps as well.)
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 The Great Courses (P)2018 The Teaching Company, LLC
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Mastering Stage Presence: How to Present to Any Audience
- By: Melanie M. Long, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Melanie M. Long
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
The skills of poise, physical ease in public, clarity of speaking, and engaging, effective communication are well understood and can be practiced and developed in ways that will greatly improve your success in presenting yourself in any setting. Melanie Martin Long, a celebrated teacher of acting and directing, leads you in an in-depth exploration of the skills - and the joy - of performance and self-presentation. With the skills you’ll develop, you can confidently step forward as a performer or presenter, offering your best self to the world in any setting.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Well presented, just challenging as audio book
- By M. Venverloh on 02-27-19
By: Melanie M. Long, and others
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Your Public Persona: Self-Presentation in Everyday Life
- By: Mark Leary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Mark Leary
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
Social interactions and the impressions that drive them are vitally important aspects of human behavior. In this compelling course, learn about how we shape the impressions other people form of us - at work, at home, in our social lives, and in the world at large.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nuanced to the point of dry toast, but edible.
- By Andrew Dunbar on 01-02-21
By: Mark Leary, and others
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No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,316
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,985
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,945
What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
What listeners say about Take My Course, Please! The Philosophy of Humor
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazo
- 11-16-20
Great Course
Solid study of the philosophy of humor. The middle third is useful for the listener that wants to practice philosophy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-24-23
Excellent
Excellent presentation and very accessible to non specialists and n the field. Please take this course.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Beth Purkhiser
- 04-13-21
Enjoyable
I enjoy philosophy so I decided to see what this was about. As philosophy goes, I didn't agree completely with the author on every point. But I certainly enjoyed and appreciated the book in its entirety.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Brett Green
- 03-15-19
Funny and interesting
Okay, so the jokes that begin each lecture are pretty lame--deliberately so. But, the course is really interesting--who knew that you could get almost 12 hours of lectures on the philosophy of humor. Gimbel is an excellent lecturer and clearly has a grasp on the subject. Like all philosophy, you won't get any real answers, but you will enjoy the ride.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- J. C. Ryan
- 04-13-24
I found this a bit boring,
I love The Great Course, but this was not one of their best. The delivery was a bit disjointed. The example jokes were a bit lame, and the whole philosophical approach took the fun out of humor. It seemed a bit forced.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- P. K. Bellville
- 04-04-19
This is no joke
This book is about the philosophy of humor which means it is about philosophy. I think philosophers are a joke, but so does the author. He has no problem joking about himself. This makes the material much more assessable. But like lots of philosophy, the book gets convoluted and difficult in places. Philosophers like to argue, and if they can't find an opponent they will argue with themselves. The first joke is on you because the picture on the cover is not the author. Each lecture starts off with a joke which is not as audible as the main body of the lecture. I like this book or course and recommend it. This is as funny as philosophy gets. Now I must share a joke or two not in the book. "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led." ~ Stan Laurel. "Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana." ~ Groucho Marx. I believe the author would call these script jokes as described in chapter 8. Have fun.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Buck P Creacy
- 01-30-21
Humor doesn’t have to be mean or average
Did you hear the one about the human who walked into a bar? Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Rediculous!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- suddenly subtle
- 02-11-19
amazing lectures!
I now have a much better appreciation for humor from a philosophical standpoint. these lectures are timeless.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-06-23
a need to know exercise
Personally, I believe everyone and anyone would benefit from knowing and understanding the purpose and benefits of humor in these lessons. The necessity of humor is undervalued way too much by many.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AM
- 08-20-23
interesting
I can mostly say I enjoyed the book and would appreciate learning it more. there are diverse voices to keep it interesting. natural breaks. but if you can't handle a college level sociology class you might want to skip this. it's more academic than jokes. bur it does provide plenty to think on.. especially for anyone planning to study humor. lots of interesting anecdotes
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